May 23, 2013

In less than a week, IRON TONGUE will proudly present their debut full-length The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown to the public via Neurot Recordings.

Set to hit North American store shelves this Tuesday, May 28th, The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown harnesses over forty-five minutes of seven-piece Arkansas-based outfit IRON TONGUE’s soulful, bluesy, and undeniably honest modern take on classic American rock, each track a legit tale of sorrow, regret and painful days past, as well as a harbinger of more rough days to come. The stories were chronicled by Billy Anderson (Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis, etc) at Wolfman Studios, owned by guitarist Jason Tedford, the band completed by guitarist Mark Chiaro, bassist Andy Warr, drummer Stan James, keyboardist JR Top, vocalist Stephanie Smittle, and fronted by Rwake vocalist Chris “CT” Terry.

In preparation of its release, a brand new hymn from The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown is available, as Invisible Oranges unfurls the LP’s gritty fourth track “Moon Unit.”

Comments James, “This tune has all facets of IRON TONGUE on display and showcases some of our influences. We are stoked to give you ‘Moon Unit’ to chew on until the record is out next week!"

If that’s not enough, catch up with the album’s previously-released singles with “Lioness” streaming via Classic Rock Magazine HERE, and also with “7 Days” hosted at The Obelisk HERE. Pre-order The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown at THIS LOCATION.

In a slow and steady stint of regional live appearances, IRON TONGUE have a pair of record release shows confirmed over the coming days, including an acoustic set in Bryant, Arkansas on release day, Tuesday, May 28th, followed by a full-lineup gig in Little Rock on Friday, May 31st. Additional tour dates will be announced in the near future.

IRON TONGUE Live:
5/28/2013 M.F. Music - Bryant, AR w/ J. Baker *IRON TONGUE acoustic set
5/31/2013 White Water Tavern - Little Rock, AR - IRON TONGUE Record Release Show“With its heart in blues and its soul in metal, this cathartic crusher, hammered out by a mélange of Arkansas veteran musicians, pays due deference to its forbears. Initially, the music bears a strong resemblance to the recent batch of Townes Van Zandt covers, perpetrated by doom Illuminati Steve Von Till, Wino and Scott Kelly. Brief bursts of it emerge as Iron Tongue roughly feed their country affectations and hefty, blues-tinged rock through the chomping maw of old school doom metal in much the same manner. However, there is no getting away from where much of this album’s running time is spent; playing between the twin forces of St. Vitus and The Allman Brothers Band.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy

Initially released in 2000, marking the first non-Neurosis recording on the Neurot roster, STEVE VON TILL’s As The Crow Flies is now available on CD once again, as the label this week re-releases the album into the population precisely thirteen years later. Bearing updated artwork and packaging from the initial release, the nearly forty-five minute composition bears a vast contrast to Neurosis’ massive, plodding riffing and percussion, instead feeling more like a mental excursion into the outer realms of consciousness; an ambient, eclectic, organic and overall honest harvest from the mind of its creator.

Neurot this week also announces the pending first-ever LP edition of As The Crow Flies, now slated to land late this Summer. This deluxe 180-gram vinyl pressing of the album will be limited to 500 pieces and will be available direct through Neurot Recordings only. An official late Summer release date will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

May 14, 2013

As NEUROSIS' European tour dates draw near, we now proudly reveal the support acts who will be joining along the way. Some may come as no surprise given that they are part of the Neurot family, whilst others may come as a pleasant surprise. NEUROSIS are extremely happy with the other musicians who will be joining them across the tour, and are delighted that they get to share the stage with different bands that they admire. Without further ado, here are the full details, including information about each support act and their views on performing with NEUROSIS:

“We are really honored to be opening again for Neurosis. To us there is no other thing that makes more sense than playing together. Past, present and future come together in this one moment, there in Karlsruhe. Time dissolves. And Life comes to a halt. There is nothing more powerful than this.” - CHVE, AMENRA

"No words can describe how honored we are to be asked to share the stage with Neurosis on their European tour. Their dedication to music and, most of all, their approach to their Art as a spiritual journey has influenced and inspired us greatly in music, and in life." - DARK BUDDHA RISING

"After years of being inspired by Neurosis, I am now truly honored to announce that Syndrome will be sharing the stage with them. On June 22nd, I will be the main support for their concert in Lint, Belgium which will be an exclusive Neurosis performance for Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxemburg." - MATHIEU, SYNDROME

"Terra Tenebrosa are, as anyone would be, truly honored to be opening for Neurosis. I feel our music, though different in shape and form, is two sides of the same coin. I personally would not be doing what I do today if it weren't for Neurosis, and that is not even close to an overstatement. //Hibernal" - TERRA TENEBROSA

"Ufomammut is honored to share, once again, the stage in Italy with Neurosis: it'll be a great experience of heaviness and vibes for our souls" - URLO, UFOMAMMUT

"We feel so honored to open the swiss shows for Neurosis, the band that inspired us for years and which is certainly one of the reasons why Zatokrev exists. For me personally there's probably not a lot out there that could make me more happy than sharing the stage with this group that developed their unique style further through for more than 25 years in such a pure and honest way." - ZATOKREV

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It is said that great art has the power to take us outside of ourselves and bring us closer to ourselves simultaneously. Few bands have accomplished this rare feat on a more profound and consistent basis than NEUROSIS. For nearly three decades, their music has touched the hearts and minds of men and women seeking contact with something beyond the physical world, something intangible, something that expresses the inner tumult of the human condition in a way that transcends time and space. Something that not only provokes questions but maybe even hints at answers.

Since 1985 this matchless force has surpassed the boundaries of any genre, never ceasing to mutate and progress their songwriting and sonic delivery, and never failing to mesmerize audiences both in the studio and onstage.

In 2012 NEUROSIS returned with the monumental release of their tenth studio album, Honor Found In Decay which went on to receive countless plaudits from the press on a global scale, and was positioned highly in end of year polls - reaffirming why NEUROSIS remain one of the most important heavy acts in existence. Their journey continues with these European tour dates in support of this vital album, and long do we hope their voyage continues into the future...

"It is the overwhelming physicality of their monolithic riffs that remains their most incisive musical tool. An underlying sense of disquiet and existential yearning has long thrummed at the heart of Neurosis, but even by their usual standards the grim restlessness of the opener, All Rage in Gold, packs a devastating punch. On the extraordinary dynamic peaks and troughs of At the Well, the band wield near-silence as a weapon, its unsettling fragility emerging from clouds of ugly distortion and snail's-pace tribal percussion. Similarly, the sprawling Casting of the Ages forces the subtle and the grotesque together in an exhilarating but doom-laden embrace. In less skilful hands, this relentless sonic oppression would be gruelling, but by expressing human frailty with such visceral abandon, Neurosis have once again turned darkness into euphoria." - 4/5 GUARDIAN

"Neurosis have taken a more complex route: skillfully weaving strains of folk, prog and even chilled ambience into their patented doom metal/hardcore tapestry and often obtaining staggering results in the process...Low poiints are refreshingly absent, while at the record's heart are two epic, 10 minute set pieces. The maximum heaviosity of Casting Of The Ages initially seems an impossible act to follow, yet the breathtaking, Porcupine Tree-style scope of My Heart For Deliverance manages it with style to spare, throwing down the gauntlet for all would-be-future-shaping rock'n'roll alchemists into the bargain." 4/5 RECORD COLLECTOR

"Craggy riffs and swathed in misty synthesiser, and a firm control of dynamics lend "Bleeding The Pigs" and "Casting Of The Ages" a compelling sense of ebb and flow, raging intensity giving way to sombre piano lamentations and vocalist Scott kelly's weathered, Tom Waits growl." - 8/10 UNCUT

"Another spiritual journey into the very heart of mankind. Completely and utterly mind-blowing." - METAL HAMMER"The most stunning aspects of 'Honor Found In Decay' come from Neurosis' grasp of dynamics...as ever, in the hands of these uncompromising sorcerers, true heaviness can be as much about the directness as disorientation, and as much about the sinister rumble as an unearthly roar." - 5/5 TERRORIZER

May 1, 2013

Arkansas southern rock rabble-rousers IRON TONGUE have unleashed another soulful jam from their forthcoming album,The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown which is set for release via Neurot Recordings on May 27th in UK/EU and May 28th in the US.

The track "Lioness" is one of the standout's on the record. It draws you in from the opening heavy and groove-laden bassline of Andy Warr and Stephanie Smittle's alluring backing vocals, before heavy-amped guitars and Chris Terry's rugged and powerful vocals come forth and the track explodes into an almighty rollicking rock jam.

Fronted by Chris “CT” Terry, the founding frontman of sludge legion Rwake, IRON TONGUE formed when a group of veteran players with diverse musical backgrounds found a common interest in the need to get down and dirty and way, way gone. Featuring CT alongside guitarists Jason Tedford and Mark Chiaro, bassist Andy Warr, drummer Stan James, keyboardist JR Top and backing vocalist Stephanie Smittle, IRON TONGUE offer up a thick, soulful blend of girthy, heavy-amped, blues-based rock. IRON TONGUE aren't singing of magical moonlit escapades. These are songs of true hurt, regret and despair reminiscent of everything from the proto-metal stomp of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk to the darkest hours of Kiss, Deep Purple, Buddy Guy and ‘Skynyrd.

The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown is produced by renowned audio sage Billy Anderson (Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis, etc) at IRON TONGUE guitarist Jason Tedford’s Wolfman Studios.“a solid slab of balls to the wall shameless rock, with a power and an edge and soul that rarely exists in music today,” — Neurosis’ Steve Von Till